In 2013, the Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County (HCSCC) in Moorhead, Minnesota presented an exhibit titled Prairie Daughters: The Art and Lives of Orabel Thortvedt and Annie Stein. The artwork of these two remarkable and yet ordinary rural women was known to HCSCC staff and to select locals who had grown up hearing about them. Annie Stein's work had been preserved largely through the efforts of Kelly Wambach who became a collector of her paintings, photographs, and personal effects after a 1976 auction at her home. Orabel Thortvedt was a great recorder of local history, having compiled "scrapbooks" illustrated by her own drawings and paintings.
The exhibit was not simply paintings hung on a wall. It explored numerous questions, including: What kind of intellectual and creative pursuits were available to women living on the rural northern plains at the turn of the century? How did "fine art" spread across the western frontier? What was the art scene like in rural western Minnesota in 1890 and 1930? Where did they buy their art supplies? Was there anywhere for artists to display their work? The answers to many of these questions could only be found by digging deep into the Clay County archives.
